This I Believe

Every morning, it is common to see Korean students nodding off in class. The entire student body looks tired. Their eyes are just too heavy to open because they only slept three or four hours. Korean students have no choice but to study. Their schedules are always full of academic works. Compared to this, students in most Western countries have opportunities to have plenty of sleep. Not many such pressures exist for them. So, here is the question; is Korea providing a proper education system for its students? I believe not, and I think our education should be changed.

Korean education is not effective enough. According to the Ministry of Education, Korea invests the most funds in education, almost 7% of Korea’s GDP. More specifically, per high school students spends approximately 600 dollars per month in tuition. Even though Korea invests affluent of money, unbelievably, our English level, as determined by the TOEFL test, ranks only110th out of 152 countries. It definitely shows Korean pedagogy is not efficient enough to teach students.

In 1995, when the World Trade Organization was formed, it was necessary for each country to produce outstanding products and sell them to the world. To produce superior products, creativity is essential. However, there is a lack of creativity in Korean education. Testing and memorizing are the most common strategies, which cannot improve creativity. We should let students explore various viewpoints and conduct more activities to broaden their visions. For example, in western education, there are some courses such as creative writing, which can develop their creativity. I think Korean education should have similar courses as well.

I believe a correct education can nurture talented people. Some student’s score might not be good even though they study long hours. It is mainly because they don’t study effectively. Also, Korean education system is too limited. As a Korean student, I expect the shortcomings of our education should be changed and use western education as a model. Then, we can combine our own advantages and some western education’s merits together, and make our education become better.

Shop on Amazon and support This I Believe

We receive up to 10% of every purchase you make on Amazon through this link. So do all your shopping here and help support This I Believe!

Top 100 Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

This week’s essay

As half of the magic act Penn and Teller, Penn Jillette enjoys challenging his audiences with the unconventional. In stating his personal credo, Jillette finds liberation in believing there is no God. Click here to read his essay.